Reviews of olympus om d e m5 mark. Review of Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II. First impressions. Design, management, "whales", accessories

INTRODUCTION:

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II was introduced in February 2015, replacing the top model presented in 2012 at that time - OM-D E-M5. And in August of this year, the camera received a prestigious award as the best semi-professional mirrorless camera ( Best Prosumer Compact Sysytem Camera 2015).

Standard MFT (Micro Four Thirds or Micro 4/3), serving as the basis for the camera mount, is one of the pioneers of the mirrorless era. It was based on the system 4/3 developed and promoted Olympus until 2010. The second major player promoting MFT is Panasonic. After 2010 Panasonic And Olympus completely abandoned the development of SLR cameras, switching to compact solutions without a mirror. It's just that they develop in their own way. Panasonic has stabilization built into their lenses, while Olympus provided by matrix shift. Looking ahead, it should be noted that this particular design feature was used by Olympus to implement a unique high resolution mode (shooting in high resolution), on testing of which we will dwell in detail a little further.

The camera is equipped with a new 5-axis stabilization system that compensates for up to five steps. And it is on this (mostly) that the manufacturer builds his advertising promotion campaign. As Olympus says: "With a unique stabilization system and a rugged, compact body, even the most demanding videographers can easily capture outdoor footage hand-held, without the need for additional heavy equipment and without worrying about noise, blur or low light."

In addition, the camera has a number of really interesting features that no other manufacturer offers, such as the mode live time, a huge number of graphic filters ... We will dwell on all this in more detail below.

APPEARANCE. DESCRIPTION Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II:

The camera is quite compact, but at the same time weighty. For example, in comparison with another winner EISA 2015, though in the amateur category - Fujifilm X-T10(we did a review of it almost at the same time), it weighs significantly more with almost equal dimensions. Housing made of magnesium alloy with dust, moisture and even frost protection. Withstands work in frost at temperatures up to -10 degrees and shooting in the rain.

Unfortunately, the camera cannot be lowered into the water. But for lovers of underwater shooting, a branded box is offered, which allows you to dive to a depth of up to 40 meters.

The camera is quite comfortable in the hand. This is largely facilitated by the protrusion on the rear panel under the thumb. To whom this will not seem enough, you can purchase an optional overhead handle ECG-2.

E-M5 Mark II geared towards advanced users. A huge number of mechanical controls are placed on the body. Only on the top panel there are 4 function buttons, 3 control wheels and also a mode switch lever.

Buttons labeled as fn, as well as the video activation button - programmable. By default, they control those functions that are indicated by icons, but everything can be reassigned.

The shooting mode dial, located on the upper left side, is equipped with a specific lock, which I see only in Olympus. If you do not press it, the disk rotates freely, and if you press it, the position of the disk will be fixed so that it does not accidentally go astray. To release the dial again, you need to press it again, that is, the latch does not need to be pressed every time you change the shooting mode, but only when you need to lock a certain mode.

Another feature of the control is the lever (to the right of the viewfinder eyepiece), switched to positions 1 or 2. It changes the functionality of the two control dials located on the upper right side.

By default, in position 1, the rear dial controls or (depending on whether S or A is on), and the front dial controls exposure compensation. In default position 2 , the rear dial controls and the front dial controls sensitivity .

With this decision, the manufacturer did not “inflate” the already large number of controls. The solution itself turned out to be convenient, although VERY unusual. It takes a certain amount of time to train muscle memory in order to automatically switch to the right position, and even accurately turn the RIGHT wheel. The main feature is that when you turn any wheel, the camera immediately changes the value of the corresponding parameter, and not just activates the scale with a change in value. In addition, the wheels rotate 180 degrees, so (in the process of creative impulse) you can switch with an awkward movement, for example, from Auto ISO to ISO 25600 (and not to ISO 100) and not even notice it. In general, the camera, one might say, disciplines and forces you to be more attentive).

Button INFO displays the current information on the screen. By successive pressing, you can cycle through the information output modes - a blank screen, overlaying brief or detailed parameters. You can also display the electronic level and the histogram. At the same time, the histogram is also displayed “not like everyone else”, but in two colors. White - displays the distribution of brightness throughout the frame, and green - in its central part. In addition, you can display the tone curve on the screen and edit the resulting images right in the camera, correcting the dark and light areas of the image.

Dealing with all this "disgrace", and most importantly, setting it up "for yourself" and getting used to accurately orient yourself in management is not a trivial task.

But familiarization with the exterior is "flowers". The camera has a non-standard (or rather - unusual for the user of ALL other digital systems) and a very branched menu. So even "advanced" users, I would highly recommend that you carefully read the manual, and not get acquainted with the camera by "poke method". Master - master, but it will take more time). Below are screenshots of some menu items.

Note that there is even ART bracketing (ART BKT) that allows you to take a photo with various artistic effects automatically applied to it (more on that in a moment).

Unlike its predecessor, the camera is equipped with a full-fledged swivel screen in all planes. The display itself is 3-inch, with a resolution of 1.040 million dots, 3:2 format. With it, you can control almost all parameters, both during shooting and during playback. But, multi-touch is not implemented, so it will not work to “spread” the pictures with two fingers, increasing their scale, as on a smartphone. There is only a virtual "slider" that changes the scale of the display. There were not without the "trends of the times." Olympus added a mode for selfie lovers to the camera. When the display is rotated 180 degrees, the familiar soft shutter button appears on it.

EVI (electronic viewfinder) has also been updated. It is the same as all modern top mirrorless cameras - 2.36 Megapixel. But, according to Olympus specifications, the EVI is based on TFT technology, while all competitors equip their viewfinders with OLED matrices. In this case, this is neither good nor bad, the viewfinder is clear and fast. But in the process of work, the feeling that it greatly “cools” the picture did not leave, and I often “just in case” double-checked the white balance settings. In any case, Fujifilm X-T10 And Panasonic Lumix GH3, which were at hand and with which it could be compared, EVI - “warmer”.

There is a proximity sensor that activates the on / off of the main display or EVI, depending on which interaction mode you have selected.

The camera does not have a built-in flash, but a small external flash is included ( FL-LM3), which is installed in the hot shoe.

Up to this point, absolutely all flashes and optics for Panasonic And Olympus, which fell into my hands, were completely mutually compatible, as it should be for an open standard MFT.

The camera is equipped with a BLN1 battery with a capacity of 1220 mAh. In fact, this is the most weakness EM5 Mark II. It is hardly enough for a day of full-fledged shooting, and this is provided that the main display is turned off (only EVI was used) and minimal menu navigation. I managed to "squeeze out" less than 300 frames (RAW + JPEG) and shooting 10 minutes of video.

TECH CHARACTERISTICS. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II FEATURES:

Speed is provided by the latest processor TruePic VII. The camera is capable of shooting bursts at up to 10 frames per second in maximum JPEG + RAW quality with autofocus fixed on the first frame. If you use a constantly working autofocus - the rate of fire will drop to 5 frames per second. The only (and traditional) weak point of mirrorless cameras is not the most capacious buffer, which can hold up to 7 frames. Then the camera slows down and takes 1 frame per second. If you shoot only in JPEG, then the series can be done until the memory card is full.

The camera uses a CMOS matrix with a resolution of 16 megapixels. It's kind of a standard for systems MFT. So far only Panasonic announced a 20-megapixel camera DMC-GX8. As soon as possible, we will test it.

E-M5 Mark II makes it possible to shoot with sensitivity up to ISO 25600 (despite the fact that even for professional full-frame cameras, the values \u200b\u200bof 25600 and even 12800 are usually displayed in the "advanced mode" section). As for the reviewed image, noise is acceptable up to ISO3200, there is practically no loss of information in colors. At 6400, noise is already noticeable and color degradation begins to appear. But ISO 12800 and ISO 25600 are suitable only for recording events, nothing more.

Below are fragments of frames shot at different ISOs. Full RAW+JPEG files for self-study can be downloaded from this link. Fragments are clickable.


ISO100	ISO200	ISO400

ISO800	ISO1600	ISO3200

ISO6400	ISO12800	ISO25600

Video shooting is possible in FullHD with a bit rate of up to 60 frames / sec and a stream of up to 77Mb / sec. So far, only Sony and Panasonic equip their cameras with 4K Video recording capability. There are a huge number of settings responsible for shooting video, like a serious camera capable of satisfying a demanding videographer. With video quality E-M5 Mark II also in perfect order. Below are some video clips taken by the camera both during the day and at night. As you can see, the picture is clear and highly detailed.

Praise the engineers Olympus for advanced autofocus. E-M5 Mark II(like all other MFT cameras from Olympus And Panasonic) is equipped with contrast autofocus, which, to be honest, does not behave very well when shooting video. In any case, it loses focus much more often in automatic mode than cameras equipped with hybrid focus systems. I had the opportunity to compare autofocus behavior on an equal footing E-M5 Mark II from Lumix GH3. Olympus behaves much more correctly and “gets lost” much less often, and having lost focus, it “catches” it again faster. Below are video clips for your reference.

And finally, the main trump card of the camera is a five-axis matrix image stabilization system. Further in the text only laudatory epithets. Until the moment I got acquainted with the camera, I had a lot of devices in my hands, the manufacturers of which described in paints “a unique stabilization system that compensates for everything and everything ...”. In fact, all this concerned ONLY shooting a photo. For video, all these "enhancers" were practically useless and still required the use of steadicams and similar stabilizing devices. So - this is the first camera that FAIRLY allows you to shoot video "hand-held" and get, most importantly, a smooth, stabilized video sequence.

SHOOTING. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II FEATURES:

Despite the semi-professional orientation of the camera and a huge number of fine adjustments, in EM5 Mark II many auxiliary functions have been implemented to help a novice photographer (not burdened with special knowledge in the field of obtaining and processing digital photography) get an interesting frame. As already mentioned, there is a mode for selfie lovers. But in addition to it, there is also a preset that allows you to quickly create a collage and post it on a social network.

There are traditional "assistants" such as Macro, Pan, Wide, etc.

In addition, there are a huge number of ART filters. As already mentioned, there is even ART bracketing, which allows you to “colorize” a certain frame using in-camera processing.

Below is an example of ART bracketing (ART BKT). From this link you can download the original JPEGs for self-study.

HIGH RESOLUTION mode Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II:

Due to the fact that the camera matrix can move relative to its zero position, you can take pictures with a resolution greater than 16 megapixels. Everything happens as follows: the camera sequentially takes eight pictures in a row, each time shifting the matrix by a small amount, and then these pictures are glued into the resulting file.

If we multiply 16 by 8, we get 64 megapixels. But Olympus has its own processing algorithms, and JPEG files are obtained with a resolution of 40 megapixels. But if you shoot in RAW - files, they will still have "honest" 64 megapixels. But don't forget to update software, since only the most latest versions RAW converters.

In the process of shooting, the matrix, as it were, describes a circle around the initial position, making a shift for each “pass” equal to half the distance between the centers of neighboring pixels.

Naturally, the technology High Resolution Mode has a number of limitations. First, and most importantly, shooting should only be done from a tripod. No handheld shooting. The actual application of the technology is possible for architecture (even at night), technical photography, still life photography or macro photography of still objects.

It is pointless to try to make a portrait or capture a moving subject in the frame. The landscape will also be possible to shoot only in absolutely complete calm, since even a light breeze levels out all the advantages High Resolution Mode.

When shooting a wide shot, people caught in the frame will be “blurred”, as if using a slow shutter speed. But they will be smeared specifically - not with a “loop”, but as if with a layered image. Also, with a strong increase, you can notice moiré and other artifacts, as a result of incorrectly aligned pixels.

In addition, the manufacturer has reasonably limited the maximum aperture, shutter speed and ISO. The aperture cannot be closed faster than F / 8, the shutter speed can not be set longer than 8 seconds (when shooting with flash - 1/20 second), and the sensitivity value cannot exceed ISO 1600. It's all logical - what's the point of trying to get the highest quality by trying to use settings that are known to won't let you get it.

By the way, once again to the word about the noise of the picture. If to receive High Quality the manufacturer limits the sensitivity to ISO1600, which means that he considers higher ones “noisy”.

In addition, Art filters cannot be used in High Resolution Mode, as well as Live modes Time, Live Composite, HDR, multiple exposure, and all types of bracketing.

Below are examples of photos and a link to the originals (RAW and JPEG) for detailed study. The picture was taken with a lens M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40 1:2.8 PRO.

For the purity of the experiment, I added photos taken by cameras to the comparison. Nikon D810 (matrix - 36 MP) And Canon EOS 5DS (matrix - 50 mp). As you can see, the miracle did not happen. The most detailed picture is from a camera with an "honest" sensor of 50 megapixels. Slightly behind him Nikon, but only - slightly . Naturally, this is a direct comparison with full-matrix PROFESSIONAL cameras which are several times more expensive. But if you just compare an honest 16-megapixel image with a 40-megapixel one, then the difference in detail is visible, and it is very noticeable.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II LiveTime Feature:

Another unique "Olympus" feature - live time. The bottom line is that in the process of photographing using a slow shutter speed, you can see the exposure of the image on the camera screen in real time.
It works like this:

Mounting the camera on a tripod
Turn on M-mode shooting,
We set the desired shooting parameters,
We press the shutter release and observe how the picture changes on the camera screen,
The image on the screen gradually becomes brighter and brighter. When it seems to you that the frame is sufficiently exposed, press the shutter release again and wait until the resulting image is processed and written to the memory card.

This function, of course, has certain features. First, the function is meant to be used long exposure, respectively, its prerogative - night shooting. Secondly, it only works in the fully manual M mode, in all others it is simply hidden in the menu. As I mentioned above in the article, without reading the user manual, finding out where the function itself is hidden in the Camera Menu is also not easy. Thirdly, it is possible to fine-tune the operation of the function. You can set the shutter release delay, set the delay for activating and turning off the screen, and much more. Since the camera has a WiFi wireless communication module, you can install a free application OLYMPUS ImageShare and use your tablet or smartphone as a remote control remote control, which is VERY handy when working with long exposures.

The function itself is a very convenient branded “chip”, which makes life much easier. There is no need to make N-th number of attempts, in the process of finding the desired shutter speed, everything can be controlled on the screen and close the shutter in time. And the slowly developing image generally evokes associations with the process of developing photographs in a dark room, causing pleasant nostalgia for the “film” times).

CAMERA PROS:

very effective image stabilizer;
fast and accurate autofocus;
rotary touch screen;
good image quality, up to ISO3200 inclusive;
excellent viewfinder with customizable interface;
dust and moisture protection;
high speed continuous shooting;
interesting functional solutions, such as High Resolution Mode, live time And livecomp, many creative filters;
all-weather flash included;
wide possibilities of video filming;
built-in Wi-Fi and a functional mobile application for communication with the camera.

CONS OF THE CAMERA:

difficult to master and very specific menu;
no headphone output;
no 4K video shooting;
short battery life;
price.

CONCLUSIONS:

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II- one of the most technologically advanced modern mirrorless cameras on the market to date. Acquaintance with the camera began with studying the menu and getting used to the controls. I had the camera for a little over a week, and by the end of testing, the controls already seemed familiar, logical and thoughtful. And without the LiveTime function, I can hardly imagine night shooting she is so comfortable.

High-quality detailed picture and a fairly low noise level at high ISOs, up to ISO3200. Rotatable touchscreen display, large functional electronic viewfinder, which is one of the best in the class, WiFi, compact, comfortable protected dust-moisture and frost-resistant case. For a person not familiar with photography, exploring all the possibilities will not be easy. That is why I would not recommend the purchase of such equipment as the first camera. Yes, the camera has many functions that can make life easier for a beginner, and the use of built-in graphic filters will replace learning Photoshop for a while, and the shooting process can be left to automation - it will not let you down. But in order to truly appreciate the camera, the study of the user manual is simply necessary - the camera has a lot to offer and something to surprise.

The camera's autofocus works flawlessly. Focusing occurs instantly, and in the process of shooting a video, the camera leads a moving object very correctly, almost without going astray. And if it goes astray, it very quickly picks it up again. A huge advantage over other mirrorless cameras is good results when shooting in low light conditions. Where is the same Lumix GH3 for a long time "crawled" with autofocus, trying to "catch" on the object, E-M5 Mark II instantly focused and tenaciously held focus. Special praise deserves an excellent image stabilizer, which allows you to get smooth footage even when shooting handheld.

By the end of testing, I increasingly caught myself thinking that the only significant disadvantage E-M5 Mark II- this is a very small autonomy. So, for normal operation, you will have to stock up on a couple of additional batteries. And if you plan to shoot a video - so also with a battery grip, since there is no built-in headphone output. Other than that, it's one of the best mirrorless cameras on the market and deserves an award. EISA 2015.

Like other cameras in the Olympus OM-D line, the E-M5 Mark II is quite compact, but not at all perceived as a lightweight toy. Rather, on the contrary - it is moderately heavy, durable and solid.

The handle is small, and in terms of grip comfort, the E-M5 II does not reach the top model E-M1, although it still lies quite comfortably in the hand. To a large extent, this is facilitated by a protrusion on the back panel, under the thumb. An optional ECG-2 overlay handle is also available.

The camera does not have a built-in flash, but a small external one is included in the kit, which is installed in the slot on the top panel.

If we compare the design of the Olympus E-M5 II with the model that it formally replaces - the E-M5, then the most important improvement in ergonomics, in my opinion, is the change in the location of the control dials, especially the rear.

From the top view (and from the rear too), you can clearly see how far the rear control dial is from the index finger. Speaking about the E-M5 shortly after its introduction, I called this moment one of the main shortcomings of this model. A similar situation is with the E-M10. The disk there is installed not only very far from the thumb, but, in addition, it is also raised above the plane of the top panel. As a result, you have to reach out to him. I constantly caught myself on the fact that the right hand completely releases the handle, moving up, and that I rotate the rear dial with two fingers.

See how much better the E-M5 II's disc position is. In fact, the thumb immediately lies on it!

The mode dial, on the upper left side, is equipped with a latch. The principle of its operation, like that of the E-M1, is the most convenient of all possible, in my opinion. You can not use it at all, then the disk rotates freely. And you can press and fix the position of the disk so that it does not accidentally go astray. To release the disc again, you need to press it again. Thus, the latch does not have to be pressed at every turn (as is the case with some models), but only when it is needed. And it is right.

The buttons that are labeled Fn (there are five of them), as well as the button with the red dot, are programmable. By default, they control those functions that are indicated by icons (the red one, of course, includes video recording), but others can be assigned.

The "2x2" control concept, previously used in the PEN E-P5 and later OM-D E-M1 models, is continued. To the right of the viewfinder eyepiece is a lever that can be switched to position 1 or 2. Accordingly, the functionality of the two control dials changes. At the same time, the freedom of configuration is small, the options are few, but they are reasonable and this is quite enough.

However, this lever is located too close to the monitor, which, due to its swivel nature, protrudes somewhat from the case, and I did not like it. More precisely, from the upper position 1 to the lower position 2, the lever switches easily and conveniently. But in this position, it turns out to be too close to the monitor body, and you can’t even insert a finger into this slot, you have to push the lever from below with your fingernail. And in winter, with gloves on, lifting it up is generally problematic.

By default, in mode 1, the rear dial controls the title setting (aperture in A mode, shutter speed in S mode, etc.), while the front dial controls exposure compensation. In mode 2, by default, the rear dial controls white balance, the front dial controls ISO. This is wonderful, but there are also ambiguous points, which I will talk about a little later.

The monitor rotates freely on two axes, which is useful when taking photos from unusual angles, and especially convenient when shooting video. Given the increased capabilities of the camera in terms of video shooting, this is important. The display is touch-sensitive, with its help you can control almost all parameters and functions, both during shooting and in playback. True, it does not have multi-touch support, so it will not work to “spread” pictures with two fingers, increasing their scale, as on a smartphone, however, the virtual “slider”, which changes the display scale, works quite well.

The built-in electronic viewfinder is very high quality. I remember when I first saw this EVI in the E-M1 model, for the first time in my life I thought that the electronic viewfinder could perhaps compete with the traditional reflex. Albeit not in terms of the quality of a “live” image, which still remains unsurpassed in DSLRs, but in terms of the combination of properties - a sufficiently high resolution combined with the convenience of electronic information displayed there.

For those who like to shoot without closing their left eye, I note that the image scale in the EVI coincides with the real, observed by the left eye, occurs approximately at focal length 35 mm (70 eq. mm).

The modes of displaying information on the screen sequentially go through the INFO button. A blank screen, parameter overlay (short or detailed) is possible.

There is a two-coordinate electronic level, you can display a live histogram (moreover, it is displayed in the traditional way for Olympus, adopted at the dawn of the digital era - the distribution of brightness throughout the frame is displayed in white, and in its central part in green).

Screen fonts, and other elements of the graphical interface, are too small. And both in the shooting mode and in the in-camera menu. I think that for far-sighted users, this can cause some inconvenience.

An alternative option for presenting information on the screen, which is activated by the INFO button (after pressing OK), is the SCP ("Super Control Panel") control panel. In this option, many parameters are simultaneously visible (and can be quickly adjusted), but the scene being filmed is overlapped.

Note that in the illustration on the left, the active parameter is the shutter mode. The "same" High Res mode is enabled. Yes, it's listed under shutter modes, not image formats.

The navigation pad buttons can be used to select AF areas, which are arranged in a 9x9 matrix for a total of 81 areas. The option when all zones are turned on, and the choice is entrusted to automation, is not a separate mode, but is turned on by moving the green rectangle outside the 9x9 matrix.

You can set not only a single zone, but also a group of nine zones (it is this mode that is enabled in the illustration on the left). The camera will give preference to the central one, but may automatically use the others. As such a group moves to the edge of the frame, the number of zones used is reduced (to four, if the group hit the very corner).

A variant with a reduced size of autofocus zones is also possible (next screenshot).

The camera recognizes faces as well as the position of the eyes. You can set the focus on the left or right eye, or entrust the choice of automation (then it will choose the near one).

Let's return to the concept of the "2x2" interface. It's really handy as it gives you quick access to a few important options.

However, like any advanced tool, "2x2" requires increased attention and discipline from the user. The fact is that the disks are constantly active. For example, if you have mode 2 turned on and ISO 800 is set, then turning the front dial will not only activate the indication of ISO scales and white balance on the screen (as in the illustration on the left), but will immediately change the ISO value accordingly. You will not just look at the scale, but immediately get ISO 1600.

Perhaps this can be considered a plus. However, since the scales are closed in a circle, you can go from Auto-ISO (and probably the lowest possible sensitivity) to maximum ISO 25600, or, similarly, from Auto white balance to CWB (custom WB on the temperature scale) with one careless flick of the dial. .

Therefore, for me personally, it was more convenient to assign ISO (this is the most frequently changed parameter during testing, after aperture and focal length) to one of the programmable buttons. Then the scales work as I would like - pressing the button simply activates the scale, and you can see what value is set. And then already change its values, if required.

The Fn2 button is assigned a "multi-function" by default - in fact, this is a choice of one of four functions - Shadow and Highlight Control, Color Creation, Magnification and Aspect Ratio.

For a more detailed look at them, you can refer to our review of Olympus OM-D E-M1.

In the screenshots - the Shadow and Light Control function. Rotate the two control dials, which separately change the shape at the bottom of the curve (shadows) and at the top (highlights). In addition to the original neutral position, 7 plus or minus steps are possible, for a total of 15 values.

The Color Creator feature is detailed in our Olympus OM-D E-M1 review. It allows you to quickly and visually change the color shift and saturation of images.

The Aspect Ratio function is a setting of the aspect ratio of the frame. In addition to the "native" 4:3, 16:9, 3:2, 1:1 and even 3:4 options are possible. All of them are obtained by crop, cropping "extra" areas from the full frame.

A feature that has recently appeared in Olympus OM-D cameras is keystone correction (perspective) distortion. It allows you to adjust the geometry of the image along two coordinates - up / down and left / right, right during the shooting, “on the fly”. For the most part, this will be needed when shooting architecture. Here is an example of how the Keystone correction function works:

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I am a portrait photographer, doing mostly studio photography. I work on a Canon system. Now I have a Canon 5D Mark III and a small compact for "pocket" use Canon G10.

Everything flows, everything changes, and today's camera market is rapidly developing towards system cameras. Now any self-respecting manufacturer considers it necessary to release their own mirrorless camera. Agree, it is still more convenient to walk or travel, even just to have a small and light device at hand with all the functions and image quality that are not inferior to a large and heavy one. SLR camera. And although my "ten" is still quite functional, I still decided to get myself a system camera.

I chose for a long time. As I said, the mirrorless market is large, for every taste and color. Here, too, there is a struggle for the pixel and the size of the matrix in order to attract the buyer. And I was looking for "my" camera. Olympus somehow immediately liked. Maybe by the fact that I once filmed with this particular system, I don’t know.

Of all the presented system Olympus cameras I chose the OM-D E-M5 Mark II and have never regretted it. Lightweight, compact, with many buttons that are programmed for each shooting mode. Convenient, and, most importantly, a huge park of optics. And it doesn’t matter that the crop 2 matrix is compared, for example, with Sony, which released a full-frame mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses, the main thing is image quality and ease of use. All this turned out to be top notch.

Someone wrote that the menu was inconvenient and fancy. I do not agree. Everything is very clear. And with the possibility of programming buttons - it is also convenient. You just need to sit, read and watch for a while.

I won't go into the technical details and specifications of the camera. You can read about this in more technically competent sources. Here, for example, you can read a very detailed test of this camera or. The latter helped me finally decide. I'll just share the first impression of a third-party layman, if I may say so.

First Impressions

The camera has a lot of pre-installed automatic programs: e-Portrait - the camera smoothes the skin tone for viewing on HD TV, macro, panning, etc. It is possible to correct them a little. Creative filters are built in - they are fun to work with. There is such a function as correcting the perspective right during the shooting. Built-in Wi-Fi allows you to immediately transfer footage and control the camera from your smartphone or tablet. The camera has a built-in five-axis stabilizer, which allows you to shoot handheld in low light with almost no blur. And shooting video with such a stabilizer is just a fairy tale - steadicam is not needed.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II + M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro, Diorama Effect, Camera JPEG. © Julia Sitokhova

The first shots taken with this camera simply shocked with their quality. Tenacious autofocus, and, most importantly, smart - you won’t have time to think, but he has already focused. The swivel screen and the absolutely silent shutter mode make the camera a handy weapon for a reporter. High detail will please the landscape painter, and with a 40-megapixel 40M Hi Res Shot mode, it will be interesting to shoot still lifes and subjects.

Filmed in different automatic modes. Since I always shoot raw + jpeg, I had the opportunity to compare pictures and evaluate the work of the camera processor - camera jpeg is beyond praise. Well, if something does not suit you, you can “pick up” raw.

Concerning manual mode- I checked the camera on a studio shoot and, again, I was completely delighted. Of course, the mirror image quality will be better and yet Olympus pleasantly surprised and impressed. I took the camera with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens - it is luxurious and very convenient, given the fairly high aperture plus a minimum focusing distance of just 0.2 meters, you can shoot a very wide range of scenes with it. Very good glass. I recommend it as a kit. Sharpness throughout the field, high detail. The picture is great for zoom, on a different frame you can’t tell from a fix. Maybe in time I'll take it for myself portrait shooting Panasonic Leica 42.5mm 1.2 - time will tell.

The FL-LM3 flash is included with the camera. The flash can be used in both vertical and horizontal orientations. It is also possible to use bounce flash. Very comfortable.

Canon 5D MkIII VS OM-D E-M5 MkII

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Disadvantages

There are some minor flaws, but what about without them. In my opinion, it would be possible to turn on Wi-Fi with a programmable button, otherwise you have to climb into the menu. There is no built-in GPS module, which for some will seem like a big minus, for me personally it is not a crime, and the battery charge lasts longer because of this. But the battery is rather weak (350-400 frames) - you must definitely buy an extra one so as not to be left in the middle of shooting with a discharged battery. A small handle for a grip, I would like a little more so as not to bother with additional equipment - although if you make the grip larger, like, for example, on the M1, then goodbye compactness. The fastening of the belt has become a little different compared to the previous version - it’s a little uncomfortable for me, it gets in the way, and yet a person gets used to everything. Well, maybe I'll forget about it soon.

Conclusion

Conclusion on the first impression - I really liked the camera. Shooting with her was comfortable and of high quality. I have never once doubted my choice. I'm happy. It may not replace a DSLR, but it will perform its functions 100% - trips, walks, business trips, even just test shots, will now become “easier” and better. The build quality and materials are beyond praise. Excellent viewfinder, swivel screen - convenient for transportation, can be closed. Great amount settings and functions for every taste. Although the level (and price) of the camera is clearly not for beginners, they have not been forgotten either. The flexibility of control, taking into account the function keys, is simply excellent. STABILIZER!!! Handheld, at a focal length of 40 mm (equivalent to 80 mm on full-frame) with a shutter speed of 1/2 second - calmly. Working ISO 3200 inclusive. Dust and moisture protection. Large selection of optics, both from Olympus and Panasonic. Add here the ability to put virtually any glass from any system through an adapter - and the widest scope for creativity opens up. Still, the main thing is the quality of the photo. Although the sensor is not the latest, 16 MP, the photo quality is excellent. This is if in general. And then everyone already decides, based on their own tastes, family budget and tasks set for the camera.

Finally, I want to say: do not look for the “masterpiece” button on the camera, look for it in your soul.

I am Yulia Sitokhova, Yael portrait photographer. The main activity is portrait photography in all its manifestations. My task is to capture emotions and keep the memory of them in photographs. And photography for me is not just a job or a hobby, it is a part of my and your soul..

Official site

Photo equipment produced by this brand has not yet appeared in our reviews, despite the fact that the Olympus trademark cannot be called little-known. Rather, like this: widely known in narrow circles. But if we talk about video shooting with this particular camera, then information that would somehow reveal this issue cannot be found during the day with fire. And this is a big omission, which we hasten to correct.

Design, technical characteristics

The camera provided for testing was equipped with a lens with an electromagnetic zoom drive.

The classic camera design of the camera involves the presence of a large number of mechanical controls. This has a positive effect on the convenience of video shooting, when the operator needs quick access to basic settings and functions.

On the mode dial, you can find the video icon, which indicates the actual presence of a full-fledged video mode. In contrast to the "photo cameras", where the video mode is driven into the role of a free functional application.

Two adjustment wheels, located on the upper right part of the body, provide the ability to quickly change the exposure parameters, but out of habit it is difficult to understand how to adjust these parameters directly during shooting: it feels like when you start recording, all parameters except focus and zoom are blocked. In fact, access to other parameters is carried out either through the menu hidden on the right on the touch screen, or by pressing the OK button, followed by the rotation of the adjusting rollers. It's about, of course, about shooting with manual settings (on “full auto”, the exposure changes automatically).

On the right side of the case there is a hinged door, under which there is a slot for a memory card.

On the left side, under a rubber plug, there are all service connectors:

microphone input 3.5mm
Micro HDMI video output
universal connector that combines USB 2.0 and analog A/V output (special cable with USB output included)

The camera is equipped with a BLN-1 battery with a capacity of 1220 mAh. The camera has a standard limit for the vast majority of cameras for the duration of continuous video recording, which is 29 minutes 59 seconds, regardless of the selected mode. After this time, the recording will stop, and it will be possible to resume it only manually by pressing the Rec button again.

After a long observation of the video shooting process, during which we had to resume recording several times, we managed to find out the approximate battery life of the camera from a fully charged battery: its resource is enough for 118 minutes of shooting in 1920 × 1080 60p mode. This is about two hours, a very good result for a camera. During a long recording, the camera almost does not heat up, and you can not be afraid of failures for this reason.

The lens with which the camera was studied has several interesting features: an autofocus lock button and a sliding zoom ring, in different position which can be zoomed both manually and using the built-in almost silent electromagnetic drive.

Main specifications cameras are shown in the following table:

Lens
focal length
aperture range
Camera
CPU
image sensor	CMOS 4/3″ 17.3×13 mm, 17.2 MP (effective 16.1 MP)
Dimensions, weight	124×85×45 mm without lens 469 g with battery and memory card (without lens)
Continuous time recording with battery included	up to 118 minutes in 1920x1080 60p Super Fine
Carrier	SDHC or SDXC memory cards
Video formats	in the text of the article
Interfaces	microphone input 3.5mm Micro HDMI video output universal connector (USB 2.0 and A/V output) WiFi()
Other characteristics	electronic viewfinder 2.36 million dots 3″ 1.037M-dot flip-out swivel LCD touchscreen built-in stabilizer (sensor shift + electronic stabilization)
Cost with a lens (kit, check the lens model with the seller)
average price according to Yandex.Market	T-12114519
Offers according to Yandex.Market	L-12114519-10
Cost without lens (body)
average price according to Yandex.Market	T-12114518
Offers according to Yandex.Market	L-12114518-10

Video/photography

Articles with reviews of video or cameras do not attempt to make a feature, view or action film, as some readers would like. The purpose of each purely technical article is to talk about the operational properties of the device, to show, if possible, how camera settings or shooting conditions can affect the nature and quality of the resulting video, and also to get acquainted with the original videos shot in fixed conditions for later comparison with shooting by others. devices.

Image processing in the camera is handled by the TruePic VII processor, the newest and oldest in the line of these processors. The camera records in formats ... But here you should think about it before listing these same formats. As for the container in which the video is packed, everything is simple, the widely used MOV container is used, which, along with the video, contains an uncompressed two-channel audio stream in PCM format with a bit rate of 1536 Kbps, as well as a timecode stream in QuickTime TC format. But listing the video parameters available in the camera is not even worth trying. You can only bring the parameters that are set in the camera by default. However, the trick is that each of these available factory presets can be changed beyond recognition. Here's how it goes in settings:

It can be seen that the user is able to change the frame size, compression method, frame rate and bit rate at his own discretion, creating his own unique preset for video recording, which is not among the factory settings. Of course, this was not without limitations. For example, with the All Intra encoding method, you cannot set the frame rate to more than 30 per second (more on encoding methods can be found in a recent article Video filming with a camera. Canon EOS 7D Mark II).

Created presets under the appropriate numbering are available in the list of quick selection of the recording format, which is called by pressing the OK button. Here, in one of the presets, an additional transformation of the mode is possible, but this does not concern the technical parameters of the file, but changes the actual speed of reading the image from the matrix (fps).

Thus, the camera allows you to change the speed of video recording from half slow (x0.4 at 24p or x0.5 at 30p) to almost four times faster (x3.75 at 30p). The audio track in video files shot at different fps is present, but it is empty - that is, sound is not recorded during slow or fast video recording.

Let's now take a look at the actual bit rates that the camera uses when encoding video with the All Intra, Super Fine, Fine and Normal settings. We will consider, of course, using the example of shooting Full HD.

Setting	Maximum bitrate
1920×1080 30p All Intra	70 Mbps
1920×1080 60p Super Fine	50 Mbps
1920×1080 60p Fine	30 Mbps
1920×1080 60p Normal	18 Mbps
1920x1080 variable fps	from 50 Mbps (x1.2-x3.75) to 30 Mbps (x0.5-x0.6)

In addition to compression in H.264, the camera can record in Motion JPEG, but the maximum frame size in such a shooting is 1280 × 720, and this mode is not of particular interest to us.

The table presented above will be a list of preferred modes, on the basis of which we will study the features of video shooting with this camera, and we will definitely pay attention to the quality of compression in each of the modes.

You can visualize the difference in the detail and nature of the picture, which give the recording modes we have chosen, using the following still frames and original videos. Both cloudy and sunny shots are included in the comparison (during the week of testing, the sun came out for literally half an hour, which we managed to fix).


	1920×1080 30p All Intra 70Mbps

Download video	Download video
1920×1080 60p IPB 50Mbps	1920×1080 60p IPB 50Mbps

Download video	Download video
1920×1080 60p IPB 30Mbps	1920×1080 60p IPB 30Mbps

Download video	Download video
1920×1080 60p IPB 18Mbps	1920×1080 60p IPB 18Mbps

Download video	Download video

The very first glance at a freeze frame or video makes you disappointing conclusion- and here, in this camera, the technology of address reading from the matrix is used, which leads to well-known shortcomings. Here they are, these shortcomings: aliasing (stepping of the contrasting edges of objects and the discreteness of thin inclined lines - the very “colander effect”), moiré (we will still encounter it), and, of course, the general blurryness of the image, leading to low resolution. It is really small, only up to 750 TV lines on the horizontal side of a Full HD frame. And here, by the way, is the promised moiré.

As for the quality of the picture in different modes with different bitrate levels, it is still too early to draw conclusions about this factor, because in static everything looks the same, more or less decent.

The stabilizer in the article should be given a separate place of honor. This is perhaps the first camera we have met where the stabilization system really works in video shooting. And it works in such a way that another video camera will envy.

The stabilizer here is used built into the camera. It, of course, is not optical, but is based on the principle of shifting the matrix relative to the lens axis. The camera also has electronic (software) stabilization, which finally eliminates the flaws of the matrix stabilizer. Thus, when shooting video, there are three options for the operation of the stabilizer:

stabilizer off
stabilizer mode M-IS1 - the camera uses both matrix shift (VCM) and electronic correction
M-IS2 stabilizer mode - the camera uses only matrix shift correction (VCM), electronic correction is not used

It turns out that in the M-IS1 mode, stabilization should work more efficiently than in the M-IS2 mode. Let's evaluate the result of shooting in all stabilization modes in three standard situations: hand-held shooting in a moving car, hand-held shooting on the move, and hand-held shooting in a stationary position using zoom.

To view in a larger size, click the button Original size

Well, what's it like? Such effectiveness of the stabilizer was a pleasant surprise even for the owner of the camera, who kindly provided the camera for testing. It seems that the owner underestimated his technique. Thanks to such a stabilizer (we are talking about a combination of a matrix stabilizer with an electronic one), it becomes possible to conduct fairly smooth shooting in conditions that are completely insane from the point of view of the operator. For example, from a moving car, and even at full zoom.

To view in a larger size, click the button Original size

However, you need to remember that the electronic stabilizer tends to create jerks in the video, sharp quick shifts in the image. Such jerks appear when the free area of the matrix ends, with the help of which the image shift is compensated. Therefore, the electronic stabilizer should be used with care and not used, for example, while panning. It should also be noted that when the electronic stabilizer (M-IS1 mode) is activated, the camera's field of view decreases slightly.

The next question is autofocus. During movie shooting, the camera in question has five focusing methods: one-shot autofocus at the start of recording, full-time autofocus, manual focus, one-shot autofocus at the start of recording, followed by manual autofocus, and finally tracking autofocus.

The work of autofocus (and we used mostly conventional continuous autofocus) can be described as atypical. Namely: in conditions that are close to ideal (it would seem) it does not behave as distinctly as in real shooting conditions, when there are a large number of contrasting objects at different distances in the frame. This is good for the average camera operator, who is unlikely to be busy shooting high-contrast paper targets, but during testing, this autofocus behavior, to be honest, was a bit confusing.

To view in a larger size, click the button Original size

We add that during several “real” shootings, when there were faces in the frame, there were no complaints about autofocus at all. Well, except for, perhaps, the only one - the speed of the autofocus drive is not as high as we would like.

Since our camera uses a multi-megapixel sensor, we can expect a fairly high level of rolling shutter (for more details, see the material Rolling shutter in video filming - defect description, examples, explanations ). To assess its level, we first find out the angle of inclination of the verticals using our stand with a disk that rotates at a constant speed.

The result obtained at 3.2 ° can be considered average (we are talking, of course, only about Full HD). For comparison, here are two examples: when shooting in Full HD, the camera Panasonic DMC-GX8 allows vertical tilt of 4.4° while the camera Sony DSC-RX100M4- only 2.5°. The slopes of the verticals given by the camera in question may look something like this in real shooting:

To view in a larger size, click the button Original size

The second manifestation of the rolling shutter, the jellyiness of the picture, cannot be measured, but it is quite real to see. The easiest way to make such a shooting is to drive the tested camera on a twitchy electric car, since our camera has small dimensions and weight.

To view in a larger size, click the button Original size

Yes, the shooting result once again proves the inadmissibility of waving the camera - in this case, the objects in the frame will look like they are covered liquid glass through which the waves travel.

From the moment of studying the very first filming, the feeling has not left that in modes with a large amount of bitrate, the level of this bitrate is clearly overestimated, excessive. At least in static shooting, the bitrate redundancy is evident, since for a Full HD frame, with a good encoder, a regular Blu-ray standard stream is quite enough. But twice as high - why?

Let's try to find at least some difference in the main modes with different bitrate levels. First, let's study shooting static objects in a lot of detail.


1920×1080 30p All Intra 70 Mbps	1920×1080 60p 50 Mbps	1920×1080 60p 30 Mbps	1920×1080 60p 18 Mbps	1920×1080 30p x0.5 30 Mbps

Some differences can be seen with a strong desire, especially if you zoom in on the display of freeze frames. This dissimilarity is expressed in different detailing of small objects. Curiously, in All Intra objects are not drawn as carefully as in the modes with the usual type of compression and with the standard frame rate when shooting.

Well, what will the frames in which there is movement show?


1920×1080 30p All Intra 70 Mbps	1920×1080 60p 50 Mbps	1920×1080 60p 30 Mbps	1920×1080 60p 18 Mbps	1920×1080 30p x0.5 30 Mbps

Here, the lack of bitrate is already evident, but only in the case of recording with a stream of 18 Mbps. While already at 30 Mbit / s there are no obvious coding flaws. Thus, practice shows that a 30-megabit stream is quite enough for high-quality preservation of the material. Although with sufficiently capacious memory cards, the issue of bitrate is not too acute, but in cases such as video shooting, redundancy is much more beneficial than insufficiency.

As in the vast majority of amateur technology, the camera in question provides the ability to digitally process the frame on the fly. This function, most likely, will be used by those who do not want to spend time on subsequent editing with color correction of the material. Available art filters are selected with the thumbwheel from the pop-up menu.

The work of some filters can be assessed by the following freeze frames (it hardly makes sense to attach original videos, but - just in case - they are stored with us for a very long time).

vivid	Natural	Pop Art

Soft Focus	Pale colors	Grain

Pinhole	Cross Process	Light Sepia

Extended Key	key line	Watercolor

Vintage	Color Selection (yellow)	Light Key

I want to note original performance one of the modes that captures a single color with the exclusion of all other colors: the choice of the desired color on which the camera should focus is made using the color wheel. By rotating one of the adjusting rollers, the color selection point is moved in a circle, at the same time the display shows the color in which this point is located. It is impossible to change the displayed color and other settings directly during video recording, all parameters are selected before recording starts and then fixed.

Changing the sensitivity when shooting movies is possible in the M, which is activated by the mode dial. Sensitivity settings when shooting video range from ISO 200 to ISO 6400.

There is a large selection of ISO numbers, since the resolution in the list of available values is quite short: ISO 200/250/320/400/500/640/800 and so on. During the next video shoot, we limited ourselves to six options, from ISO 200 to the highest possible ISO 6400.


ISO 200	ISO 400	ISO 800

ISO 1600	ISO 3200	ISO 6400

It is necessary to note a characteristic feature, which, perhaps, is calling card this camera: almost no noise, even at high sensitivity levels. What makes noise cancellation so effective?

Let's test this theory. The noise reduction settings available in the camera will help with this (by the way, such settings can only be found in “serious” top-class cameras or devices from the professional segment). As you can see from the screenshot of the settings, here you can turn off noise reduction, or select one of three levels of noise reduction: Weak, Standard and Strong.

How can you not take advantage of this offer? We will definitely check the effectiveness of the technology, and at the same time we will try to find the difference in the video shot with noise reduction turned off and in all three filter gradations. Before shooting, the necessary manual settings were made: the aperture was fully open, the shutter speed corresponded to the frame rate in the current shooting mode (1080 60p), and the ISO was set to the maximum level.


F3.5, shutter speed 1/60, ISO 6400
Noise filter: off	Noise filter: weak	Noise filter: standard	Noise filter: strong

How can this be characterized? Firstly, again we do not see the noise that, it would seem, must necessarily be accompanied by shooting with maximum ISO values. Secondly, there is no particular difference at all: that noise reduction is turned off, that it works ... Of course, a static freeze frame cannot reflect the presence of dynamic noise, however, if this noise was obvious, it would certainly be displayed in the picture as characteristic artifacts.

With the camera's ability to switch from PAL to NTSC, the user is sure to switch to the smoothest mode, 60p. Exactly as we did before testing at the request of readers. However, it should be remembered that in some cases, when shooting is carried out at frequencies belonging to the NTSC standard (30 or 60 frames per second) and with a shutter speed that is a multiple of such frequencies, a certain flicker can be obtained in the frame. True, this “requires” that the scene be illuminated by fluorescent or mercury lamps. And, of course, the country in which the survey is made must belong to the 50-hertz zone.

Software

Before testing the camera, we made sure that its firmware is the latest, .

There are, it turns out, cameras in which the video output is a sort of separate software and hardware function. Literally like this: the elementary possibility of returning a live video stream has its own name - probably patented, where without it - and even its limitations, expressed in the termination of the broadcast after a certain time. Probably, this time is the notorious half an hour, the standard limit for continuous video recording. But video recording and broadcasting are essentially different functions. Why and why such a restriction exists is unclear. One thing is clear: there is no such flaw in our camera, the video output works smoothly and constantly, while the camera is powered by the battery.

By successively switching the information display modes (the Info button), it is possible to obtain a signal from the HDMI output of the camera with both informative content and a pure signal. However, an element such as, for example, a grid, is disabled in separate settings.

The functions of the Wi-Fi adapter built into the camera are realized through mobile application Olympus Image Share(). This application is stable in operation, the absence of inexplicable errors, freezes and crashes. The delay in the transmission of the video stream is about half a second.

The main camera settings available in the application are largely the same as those available in the service menu of the camera itself. The application works in both portrait and landscape modes, intelligently placing controls.

The camera's wireless adapter creates an access point with the following characteristics:

The maximum distance at which the connection between the smartphone and the camera remains stable is about 60 meters with the condition that there are no obstacles and that the air is not littered.

Camera settings with their number of functions can compete with the settings of professional photo or video cameras. Summarizing, we can say this: almost any component is configured: user modes, button functions, focus assistant, and so on. Even the histogram that is displayed on the camera display in video mode has a threshold setting:

The camera provides for the possibility of automatic shooting with a specified time interval between shots, such shooting in the camera is available only in P/A/S/M modes and is called time-lapse photography. From the captured images, you can make a video with a large frame size and appropriate resolution. Of course, there will be no sound in such a video.

To view in a larger size, click the button Original size

Video, 0 lux>1000 lux

As can be seen from the freeze-frames and videos, the camera does not differ in particularly high sensitivity. Shooting this scene with automatic settings shows adequate and very accurate work of automation. However, given that at high ISO the picture is practically silent, this automation could well “raise” the sensitivity even higher, thereby making the picture brighter. However, with manual settings it is possible to shoot as low as five lux without worrying about noisy footage.

The resolution of the camera has already been mentioned, it is traditionally low for such cameras that read information from the sensor with skipping lines: up to 750 TV lines on the horizontal side of a Full HD frame.

conclusions

Of the shortcomings of the considered camera, only such obvious ones as low resolution, aliasing and moiré can be listed. Perhaps this is where the negative list ends. All other factors identified during testing are extremely positive:

great stabilizer
low noise level when shooting in low light
a large number of professional settings
good energy saving

Thanks to Dmitry Ushakov
for the camera provided for testing